UAE bourses have bigger issues than Osama bin Laden's death

Local bourses were little changed this morning as news emerged that Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces.

"Osama's death to regional markets is immaterial," said Mohammed Ali Yasin, chief investment officer at CAMP Investments in Abu Dhabi. "We have bigger issues that are dampening sentiment such as the civil war in Libya," he said.

President Barack Obama said Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan on Sunday. The US is in custody of his body.

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange General Index was up 0.1 per cent 2,695.38 points, while the Dubai Financial Market General Index was up 0.2 per cent to 1,633.22 points.

Oil prices declined by 1 per cent on Monday. US crude fell to $112.21, retreating from a 31 month peak of $114.18 set on Friday. The dollar index, which tracks its performance against a basket of major currencies, jumped from a three year low of 72.813, to 73.227.

"A stronger US dollar can cause a pullback in commodity prices, and help support consolidation in local market that we have been seeing recently," said Haissam Arabi, the chief executive of Gulfmena Investments in Dubai.

Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait's measure added 0.2 per cent to 6,524.90 points. Bahrain's index added 0.1 per cent to 1,407.35 points. Oman's measure gained 0.6 per cent to 6,378.34 points. Qatar's index was unchanged at 8,540.54 points. The Saudi Tadawul All-Share Index was down 0.4 per cent to 6,683.81 points.

halsayegh@thenational.ae